Heaven
by stellaris demon
Summary: Takes place in the 74th Annual Hunger Games. Clove experiences what people call heaven.


**Clove's POV**

"Stay with me, Clove. Don't die on me."

I'm still conscious, but searing hot pain racks my body. I can't move. I'm paralyzed. Cato is towering over me, begging me to stay with him. It hurts me that I can't talk to him. He has a tight grip on my hand, so tight I think it's turning white. "Clove...don't die. Please. I need you," Cato sobs. It's very rare I see him crying. But it isn't impossible to see him cry. He masks a lot of pain behind his tough exterior.

"Clove. I can heal you, I promise." Both of us know that can't be done. Cato is not a healer. He's a fighter. He grabs the backpack laying beside me. He quickly unzips it and rummages through it, desperately trying to find something. I know it's useless. Thresh made a deep dent in my skull, leaving me paralyzed and mute. All I can do is think, and wait for my time. It's just that Cato can't accept it.

"Clove, you're not going to die. You won't. I won't allow it."

He can't control that, and he knows it.

"We're too vulnerable here." He picks me up and goes over to a more secluded spot. He then starts speaking in hushed whispers. "Listen to me. You are not going to die. Not while I'm still alive."

I can feel my mind starting to get weaker and weaker.

"Clove, you won't die. Both of us _will _make it back to our district alive."

I'm struggling to hear him now.

"Please, Clove. Stay alive. Please," he pleads. His voice breaks, tears are rolling down his face as he says it.

"Clove, don't you dare leave me. I can't handle life without you."

"Cato..." I manage to choke out. His face brightens at my voice. He starts to shake me vigorously.

"Clove! You're alive. Come on, we can do this. We can-" I shush him. "Cato...it's difficult for me to even talk right now. Just embrace the fact that I'll be gone soon. Please..." Cato shakes his head. "No. You _will _live."

Oh, how I wish. "Cato, it's pointless. I feel like now is the time. Bye, Cato, and remember...I love you, and I always have."

Those are my last words.

I feel my spirit drift away from my body. I hover over Cato for a while, observing his reaction. "Clove, you're not dead. Please. Come back to me." I reach over to touch his face, but it is merely a small gust of wind to him.

_Cato...I hope you win the Games. I'm happy that I got to told you what I've kept in for so long. _I say. I know he won't hear it, though. I'm invisible to him in the state I am currently in. "Clove..." he whispers to my corpse. "I just wanted to say I love you too. But I guess it's useless now that you're gone."

_No, it's not useless._

"I guess I should leave now...they have to take your body back to the Capitol then to District Two."

He takes one last look at my corpse, kisses its forehead and reluctantly stands up. "I'll avenge your death, I promise," is what he says to it. Cato looks to the distance, I assume it's where Thresh ran off to. He squints at it, then crouches down again. "I might need these, sorry." He carefully opens my corpse's jacket and takes out a few knives. He grabs a few leaves to polish them. Once he's finished, he attaches them to the pockets into his own jacket. "It's avenging time."

He runs off to the direction where Thresh is supposed to be in. I follow him. He won't notice anything, though. I'm a ghost after all. Cato stealthily hides behind bushes, trees, anything that could mask his presence. Then he comes up to a small clearing where he spots Thresh leaning against a tree. Apparently, Thresh has a few burns here and there, and a large cut on his arm. How has he lived with that for the whole duration of the Games?

Cato dashes through the bushes soundlessly and I follow. In just about one minute of silently moving, he's only a good five meters away from where Thresh is. I'm sure even he knows Thresh is much too big for hand-to-hand combat. With Cato's strength, maybe he could even be on the same level as Thresh, but that's not enough. If he doesn't play his cards right, Thresh won't be defeated.

I examine Cato's face. I see his eyebrows scrunched up, showing deep thought. He's weighing his options, the possibilities. Maybe subconsciously, he slowly takes out a knife from his jacket and grips the hilt tightly. He takes a deep breath. "It's now or never," he whispers to himself and jumps out of his hiding place. Thresh quickly jumps up and brandishes a knife of his own. Where did he get that?

Both men are engaged in combat now. Cato getting ready to slash Thresh's leg, Thresh blocking it with his knife blade. Thresh trying to slit Cato's neck, Cato deflecting the blow. Thresh manages to make a small cut across Cato's cheek, and I can see blood seeping out of a gash on Thresh's arm. They're both having trouble breathing now. Coated in sweat, Cato, out of desperation for this fight to end, trips Thresh by kicking his feet under. Thresh falls to the ground with a large thump.

Cato does his best to keep Thresh locked to the ground. "I'll make this quick. You'll meet Rue soon," he says. Cato shuts his eyes and slits Thresh's throat. Blood spurts out of the area and splatters Cato. "That was for Clove, just to let you know." He stands up. "Clove, you may not hear me, but I kept my promise. I avenged your death, and I'll try to win this for you. For both of us."

Cato decides he should settle for where he is right now, as it's already getting dark. He finds a large hole in a tree, big enough to hold him. He camouflages the hole and then enters. I'm about to follow when I hear a voice. _"He really loves you, you know."_

I turn to see a translucent Thresh. _"How are you...like that?" _I ask him.

"_You're not the only ghost in town. If you have an afterlife, then the others must have one too."_

"_So you're just planning to stick around?"_

"_Nah. Unlike you, I have no district partner to look out for. Little Rue is up there now,"_ he says, pointing upwards.

"_You're still here..."_

"_Because I have to tell you something. It's a win-win situation. If Cato wins, he brings pride and honor to your district, right?"_

"_Of course."_

"_But then his life would be miserable. You are like his reason to live."_

"_He could always find other girls."_

"_Do you really want that?"_

"_If it makes him happy."_

"_It won't. He just killed me to avenge your death."_

"_He could have killed you because he wanted to win the Games."_

"_But his purpose was to avenge your death."_

"_So what?"_

"_It means he cares about you."_

"_And?"_

"_Just think about it again. If he lives, he gets pretty much everything he's ever wanted. And if he dies...he gets to be with you."_

I ponder on that thought for a moment. I would love for him to be with me, but that's selfish. I want him to live his life.

"_Of course I want him to be with me, Thresh. But that's a bit selfish, don't you think?"_

"_He wants to be with you."_

"_Since when did you go all therapist?"_

"_I've been hiding many secrets. That's the reason why people often say I have a mysterious atmosphere."_

"_Okay...?"_

"_Hey, why don't you come with me? I've heard time flies faster there. And you'll get to see your other friends like those tributes from One and Four."_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Trust me."_

Thresh fades into white. How does he do that? _"Will your mind 'up'." _I can hear his voice.

_Up. I think to myself. Up._

I feel my body fade into nothing. I glance at my hands. I can see through them. Then I feel yself being pulled up. I feel like my body is being stretched. Excruciating pain racks my body, and I close my eyes, waiting for the pain to go away.

I open my eyes again, only to be greeted by a blinding flash of light. The glare subsides and before me stands large pearly white and gold gates. Thresh stands beside me, donning pure white clothing. I look down and I see that I'm wearing the same garments as he is.

"We're not going in yet. Well, you aren't, but I figured you might want some company."

"_Why aren't we going in? And you can go if you want, I'm capable of handling myself."_

"_Okay, so I'll leave after explaining. You aren't going in because you want to see Cato, am I correct? You want to see if he'll win the Games or not. You can watch from there."_ He points to my left. _"Enjoy." _He makes his way towards the gates.

I head over to the direction he pointed out for me. Until now I've never noticed I've been standing on clouds. As I near the spot Thresh told me about, I see a large screen with instructions. Curious, I tap on it, wondering if my current location is similar to the Capitol. It zooms in on a certain place.

In about ten minutes, I learn how to use this device correctly. There's a search bar, so I type in:

_74__th__ Annual Hunger Games Arena_

It shows the arena. Far and wide, different forests and mountains. I see three blinking dots. Two green, one red. It shows the tributes on the side. The ones alive, that is. Green indicates District Twelve. So those star-crossed lovers are alive. Red indicates District Two. Cato's alive as well. I breathe a sigh of relief. For a second there, I thought that girl from Five was that red dot.

Suddenly, black blinking dots appear on the screen nearby the red one. I look at the legend. The black blinking dots indicate wolf-human muttations. Oh no. If Cato's asleep, he better wake up and run _right now. _

As if on cue, the red dot starts moving. Unsurprisingly, the green dots start moving, too. I double tap the screen and it splits into two halves. One focuses on Cato, the other screen focuses on the tributes from Twelve. Cato looks injured, nothing too major but his body is decorated with wounds. He's running as fast as he can, and judging from the direction, I'm guessing he's heading towards the Cornucopia. The tributes from Twelve, I look at the guide and see their names are Katniss and Peeta, they're leaning against a tree beside the lake. I'm sure Cato will pass them.

And again, as if on cue, Cato runs past them. Katniss and Peeta see what he's running from, their eyes widen, then they run as fast as they can towards the Cornucopia. Cato is already nearing it, Katniss not far behind, but Peeta is very distant. From what I can see, he is limping. I run through all my memories of the Games and I remember Cato told me he cut Peeta's upper leg.

Katniss finally notices Peeta far behind her. She rushes to help him, shooting some of the mutts, anything. Which reminds me of my death. Cato would have done the same, but he was too late. He would have saved me if he could.

I shake those thoughts out of my mind. I'm not part of the Games anymore. I am a spectator watching the top three tributes.

I watch as Cato scales the length of the Cornucopia, desperate to get away from the mutts. Followed by Katniss, keeping a tight grip on her bow. Peeta, on the other hand, is struggling to climb. Katniss tries to pull him up, shooting some mutts in the process until there are only few arrows in her quiver left.

Peeta finally gets to the top of the Cornucopia, with a mutt clawing at his heels. The largest mutt jumps and almost reaches Katniss. She's startled, but she manages to shoot it down. Her eyes widen as she observes the muttations circling the Cornucopia.

I wonder what she's thinking? I zoom in on one of the mutts. One with blonde-brown fur and green eyes glowing with hate. I double tap its collar.

_District One_

So it's a District One mutt, what's the big deal? Oh, wait. I observe it again. Its fur shining in the moonlight. Green eyes. Where have I seen those features before?

_Glimmer._

Oh my. How did I not notice that? Then I notice one with brown fur, almost black. I zoom in on its collar, and it says _District Two._

That's me.

I zoom in on others, too. There's a small dark one, with golden brown eyes. I'm guessing it's the kid that Marvel killed.

I hear struggling. I've been too absorbed with the mutts that I haven't been paying attention to Cato, Katniss and Peeta.

I double tap the three blinking dots once again and this time, they take up the whole screen. Cato has Peeta in a headlock with Katniss aiming an arrow at Cato's head. He says something, but I don't hear it. But then I see Peeta draw some blood from his bad leg and subtly makes an X on the back of Cato's hand.

He raises his eyebrows at Katniss to see if she's catching on. Her eyes widen and she nods in agreement. She narrows her eyes and aims at the mark.

I avert my eyes, knowing I couldn't stand watching Cato in pain. I'm actually sure Twelve's plan will work.

I've seen Katniss in the training center, alway eyeing the archery section. She was probably itching to get her hands on those things.

I was Marvel's look out when he was planning to kill that girl from Eleven. Rue's her name, he said. I saw the pinpoint accuracy of Katniss. Straight through his neck. I even saw Katniss mourning for Rue's death. I was actually quite touched.

There's a loud crash coming from the device. I glance at it. Cato lies lifeless in the mouth of the Cornucopia. Or so I thought. He's not lifeless, but he's close. The mutts quickly run to him and start attacking him. Not enough to kill him, though. Enough to make him suffer until his death.

Loud groans emit from his mouth. An occasional growl from one of the mutts. The quick shallow breathing of Katniss and Peeta.

I decide to focus on the situation of Katniss and Peeta. Katniss is using her arrow as a tourniquet to help Peeta's leg. Peeta wincing from the pain. Nothing really new. They get slightly distracted by Cato's complaints and groans, though.

I watch for what seems like days, but I know it's only been hours. Finally, Katniss gets tired of Cato's suffering. She's ready to aim an arrow at him to kill him now, but her quiver is empty. Peeta tell her to take the arrow she's using as his tourniquet, but she declines. In the end, Peeta manages to convince her to use it.

Katniss creeps up to the edge of the Cornucopia and gets ready to shoot. Cato mouths one last word. The arrow flies and hits Cato. That's the last thing I remember before I black out.

I slowly open my eyes. The blinding light makes me squint, but I force my eyes open. I see a tall figure looming above me, wearing the same white garments as I am wearing. He looks familiar. Striking blue eyes, blond hair. "Clove?" he says.

"Who are you?" I ask him. He lets out a small chuckle.

"You don't remember me? I'm offended!"

"No, really. Who are you?"

"The one and only Cato, my love."

I blush at his nickname for me. Wait. It's Cato. _The _Cato that I entered the Games with. I quickly envelop him in a tight bear hug. "Hey! Someone's a little excited to see me, eh?"

"I missed you! I've been watching you, and I'm happy to see you lived for quite a while."

"You underestimate me." He pulls away from our embrace and puts a pout on his face.

"Not going to work," I tell him.

"Are we going to stay here all day or do you want to see what heaven looks like? Just beyond those pearly white gates, legends from generations before us. Come on." He grabs my wrist and pulls me towards the gates.

Before I know it, we're standing in front of the gates that open to what people may describe as paradise. "Wait, I have something to do," Cato says. Before I ask him what, he surprises me by smashing his lips to mine. Only one thing comes to mind:

_Heaven._

_**A/N hope you like :) R&R please, I love you and the THG cast will love you too.**_


End file.
